Nongovernment Reforestation in the Philippines: Ways Forward

Abstract

This study reviews and assesses nongovernment reforestation in the Philippines vis-à-vis government and total reforestation using primary and secondary data. The objective is to identify issues and problems related to nongovernment reforestation and recommend actions that can be undertaken to address them. This study finds that government reforestation dominates total reforestation, while nongovernment reforestation only has a relatively small contribution in recent years. During the first three years of implementing the National Greening Program, the growth of nongovernment reforestation had been erratic, increasing in 2011 but decreasing in 2012 and 2013. This study asserts that private reforestation—or reforestation conducted by the private sector under no agreement with the government—has been the main driver of nongovernment reforestation at present. However, its full development as an industry has been hindered by various institutional, production, and marketing issues and problems. This study recommends ways to address these problems and issues to move nongovernment reforestation forward.